Focused on avoiding the goose poop hidden in the grass around the lake, I almost missed the flowers.
Isn’t that the way it sometimes goes, though? We’ve got our eyes on this fallen world and its troubles and ugliness and chaos—I think I'll call it goose poop from now on—and we almost miss the beauty of our Creator.
God is like a child with his latest crayon drawing in his hands, offering you a look. He’s not an extroverted child who jumps in front of you, waving his masterpiece in your face until you comment on how amazing he is. God is a soft-spoken child who waits patiently for anyone who will notice him. If a person pauses long enough to admire his creation and ask him questions, the biggest smile will spread across his face, and he’ll happily give his treasure to you, saying, “I made this just for you.”
Have you seen the look in a child’s eyes when someone dismisses them too quickly or doesn't acknowledge them at all? It’s heartbreaking, and I can’t help but envision the same look in my Father’s eyes each time I ignore him because I’m too busy, too preoccupied, too focused on the messes or on myself.
I love how Andrew Murray describes abiding in Christ in stillness of soul: “It is when the soul is hushed in silent awe and worship before the Holy Presence that reveals itself within, that the still small voice of the blessed Spirit will be heard.”
Remember, the Lord isn’t the over-exuberant child. He’s not in the great and powerful wind, the earthquake, or the fire. He is the gentle whisper. (1 Kings 19:11-12, NIV) He won’t force us to stop and acknowledge Him, to accept the gift of His magnificent creation, or to thank Him for expressing His love to us in ways more abundant than all we could ask or imagine.
“And one of the first secrets [of abiding] will be the deeper insight into the truth, that as thou sinkest low before Him in nothingness and helplessness, in a silence and a stillness of soul that seeks to catch the faintest whisper of His love, teachings will come to thee which thou never hadst heard before for the rush and noise of thine own thoughts and efforts.”
--Andrew Murray